In the first article, Isserman said, “From the moment it was identified as the highest mountain, it became an object of fascination. There are more interesting mountains to climb. There are more beautiful mountains. There are more challenging mountains that are a better experience. But it’s a trophy. It’s the biggest.” The article appeared on April 22.

In the second piece, Isserman spoke about the growing number of climbers on Everest and the evolving code of climbing ethics. “Climbing has this elaborate and evolving code of ethics. The really ethical thing would be to give the poor mountain a vacation,” he commented.